The Heart Wants What it Wants
by pixiepup
Summary: Elvis and Georgie reconnect at the end of S2. This is how S3 might have panned out with them as a couple.
1. Chapter 1

**The characters and most of the story lines belong to the creators of Our Girl.**

 **The Heart Wants What it Wants**

 **Chapter 1**

 **Manchester - June 2016**

Georgie had been at the hospital with Elvis every day since he got shot. Her parents were not too impressed that she had stood Jamie up at the altar but they could see how worried she was about Elvis, so had not said too much about her second wedding disaster.

She was struggling to decipher her feelings towards Elvis. She had told Jamie, when she had met him briefly in the church yard after the aborted wedding, that no one had turned her head; that it was nothing to do with Elvis. But that wasn't strictly true. Since Elvis' reappearance in her life, she had been drawn back to him like a moth to a flame. _The heart wants what it wants_ – she'd heard that saying and it certainly suited her situation with Elvis. Her head _and her_ _parents_ were telling her that there was absolutely no way she could go down that road again but her heart was telling her something completely different. And unfortunately, her heart was doing a great job of totally messing with her head.

When she'd heard that shot ring out and Elvis had fallen to the ground, her life had seemed to go into slow motion. She had leapt off the stage just as Abu was blasted by the second gun shot, fired a split second later, by one of the first response team. Some of his blood and brains had spattered across her face as the bullet shattered his skull but she hadn't noticed as she had been completely focussed on Elvis' lifeless form, lying on the ground. Kneeling at Elvis' side, she had applied emergency treatment as best she could, without her kit available and thankfully the paramedics had arrived in record time. She remembered thinking, with relief, that they must have been on site already. In the ambulance Elvis had regained consciousness briefly. To see if she could elicit any kind of response, she had told him that she knew he would pull a stunt to stop her getting married. Elvis had replied by kissing her hand that was cupping his face and mumbling. "You're here though aren't ya, all is well in the world." Before slipping back into unconsciousness. She remembered kissing his cheek, and feeling such incredible relief that he had not been killed.

During his spell in hospital, they had talked for hours about everything under the sun, everything that is, apart from how she felt about him. She knew he still loved her, he told her so at every opportunity but she told him they couldn't just pick up from where they'd left off. And why would she want that anyway?

She'd seen his family coming and going and they had, of course, been surprised to see her there. And once Elvis was out of danger, even Debbie had been there a couple of times, to bring Laura to see her Daddy. Georgie felt her heart melt when she met Elvis' little girl and saw them cuddling up together on his hospital bed. She looked a lot like him with beautiful big brown eyes and a cheeky smile. At first Georgie had found it hard to see her, knowing that she was the cause of Elvis standing Georgie up at their wedding. But as she got to know her, she realised it was not her fault and Georgie couldn't help but see what an adorable little character she was, a lot like her father in fact! Debbie had seemed embarrassed when they met, but did not appear surprised that Georgie was there. She did try to apologise to Georgie, during a quiet moment, for causing both her and Elvis so much pain; Georgie, mortified by the way the conversation was going, just told her not to worry. She was over it.

"Are you really though?" Georgie's heart was shouting at the top of its voice. That bloody voice, she decided, needed to be silenced and soon.

Georgie knew she had to get away. She was happy in the knowledge that Elvis was out of danger. He just had a few more weeks of convalescing at home to get through before he could return to active duty. He wanted her to come back down to London with him but much to his disappointment she refused, telling him that he would have his family around him to support him. She had already made her plans – she was heading back to Kenya to the refugee camp. It was just what she needed for closure and to clear her head, after all, she still had several weeks of compassionate leave left after her kidnapping ordeal.

When she'd told Elvis of her intentions, he was distinctly unimpressed. He had really hoped that this time they had spent together, while he was in hospital, had been just what they needed, to mend their relationship and help them to start afresh. But it seemed he was wrong, Georgie was having none of it. And now she was heading back off to Kenya, back to the bloody danger zone that he'd only recently dragged her out of! They ended up having a massive argument about it and Georgie had stormed off out of the hospital for fear of giving him a relapse.

Elvis was crushed, he'd really been pinning his hopes on Georgie coming back to him, now she'd ditched that dopey doctor. Or at least he assumed she had, as there had been no further mention of him since, she'd _done an Elvis,_ as she called it, on their wedding day. She hadn't seemed that upset about it either, he secretly hoped she'd been more broken up over _their_ aborted wedding, even though he felt bad at having caused her such distress.

Determined not to give up, Elvis texted Georgie constantly while she was in Kenya, he didn't want to lose their closeness now that they were back in touch and had been on pretty good terms, before the argument. He apologised for his reaction to her Kenya news and assured her he understood why she needed to go back. They had some facetime conversations when the wi fi would allow and Georgie could feel her heart softening as Elvis told her over and over, how much he loved her.

Eventually, she capitulated to his pleas and agreed to see him, on her return to the UK, in mid-August. Georgie came down to London for a day of sightseeing with Elvis and he had insisted she stay over so that he could take her out to dinner afterwards. They had a long conversation about their past and their future and Elvis begged Georgie for a second chance. Georgie was finding it more and more difficult to ignore the voice in her heart that belonged to Elvis' number one fan. Georgie and Elvis ended up spending the night together, resulting in the last vestiges of Georgie's defences being completely obliterated.

She agreed that they could casually start seeing each other again, although she was not ready for any more commitment than that, for the time being, they would just have to see how things went. Elvis, realising that it was the best he could hope for, under the circumstances, was placated. He saw Georgie off on the train back to Manchester the next day with an enormous smile plastered on his face. Things were finally looking up, perhaps they would eventually overcome his earlier massive fuck up; he truly hoped so!


	2. Chapter 2

**I think there are some reviews for the previous chapter, I've certainly seen one but the site is having it's usual weekend melt down so I have not been able to access the others. But Thank you for following and reviewing.**

 **Chapter 2**

By November Georgie and Elvis had been seeing each other again for a couple of months, although they had both returned to their units in September, so their dates were confined to weekends when they could get away from work and when Elvis didn't have Laura. Georgie had spent some time with Elvis and Laura and she had grown to love the little girl but she just wasn't quite sure how she fitted into Laura's life. She didn't want to confuse her. Elvis, seeing how good Georgie was with his daughter had no such concerns, telling Georgie. "I love you and so does she. Don't overthink it George, please. Let's just take each day as it comes and figure it out as we go." That aside, things were going well for them and they were both really enjoying their rekindled relationship.

As fate would have it, Elvis and his team were deployed for a mission to Syria later that month and Georgie, not realising it was Elvis's mission, had volunteered as medic. When they discovered the coincidence, they were delighted, as it meant spending more time together and some precious R&R time in Cyprus after the mission.

It was their last day in Cyprus, they were relaxing on the beach soaking up the sun, when Elvis propped himself up on his elbows so he could talk to Georgie. "It was a fantastic surprise to see your name on the call sheet for this mission he told her. I wasn't looking forward to being away from you now that we've found each other again." Georgie smiled up at him shielding her eyes from the glaring sun. "Being here together has been blissful these last 5 days. It's a shame we have to return to our units tomorrow." He continued. Georgie knew he was building up to something and shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

"Elvis, please don't, not yet, I'm not ready. Let's just enjoy ourselves for now."

"Georgie, just listen to me, unless we have something more official in place, like an engagement, I am not allowed to discuss possible future postings with you. I don't want you having to wonder where I am all the time and be worried about me. If we were engaged, I'd be authorised to give you a little more information about what I am up to and how long I'd be gone. Please think about it." He pleaded. "And of course there is the little fact that I completely adore you and want to spend the rest of my life with you." He grinned and leaned over to kiss the tip of her nose.

Georgie pulled him down for a lingering kiss. "I promise I'll give it some thought." She told him, earning herself a megawatt smile from him, that put the sun completely in the shade.

###

Luckily, they were both on leave over the whole of Christmas and managed to spend Christmas day together at Elvis' flat in London. Max and Grace had not been impressed that she was not spending the day with them, it was not often she got to spend Christmas at home these days. Relations between Georgie's family and Elvis were still fairly fraught. They knew she was seeing him again but they had not invited him to visit the house yet. They could not bring themselves to forgive him for doing what he did to Georgie on their wedding day and they also blamed him for Georgie standing Jamie up at the altar too! She did not want to endure arguments and tense family dinners over the festivities so she had taken the easy way out. Elvis had needed to be in London on Christmas morning for Laura anyway, so spending the rest of the day with him, in bed, had been the perfect solution as far as she was concerned. Funnily enough, Elvis had no complaints with that arrangement either!

Georgie had made it very clear to Elvis, in advance, that she did not want, nor expect, a marriage proposal on Christmas day. He had looked a tad disappointed when she told him. But coupled with her fears about the Laura situation, she just wasn't sure she could go down the engagement route again so soon. She had taken on board all he had told her in Cyprus but she was not convinced that it wasn't just a ploy by him to speed things along.

Georgie had spent Boxing Day with Elvis' family, who treated her like she'd never been away, although it was clear that they felt some discomfort about what Elvis had done to her. They seemed determined to make up for his outrageous behaviour, in every way possible. They spoilt her with lovely gifts, great company and amazing food and wine. She returned home to Manchester, with Elvis in tow, loaded down with bags of goodies and several pounds heavier!

Elvis had booked into a hotel as Georgie's parents did not think it appropriate for him to stay with them. Georgie having missed Christmas with her family felt she should spend some time at home although she did spend one of the three nights he was there with Elvis in his hotel. On his last night in Manchester though he snuck in her bedroom window like he always used to. Georgie was still awake and realised what he was up to, as she heard the window creak open quietly. Delighted by his daring, she threw back her covers and welcomed him into her bed. He stripped off quickly and climbed in next to her pulling her towards him. She groaned with pleasure as he teased her with his tongue and with his expert fingers in all her most sensitive places. He had to put a finger to his lips on more than one occasion throughout the night to warn her to be quiet. The last thing they needed was Max or Grace busting in on them he thought with a shudder! That night of lovemaking was one of the most passionate, sensual encounters either of them had ever had. The secrecy and need for silence enhancing the experience greatly. Elvis slipped out of the house at dawn before her family woke, meeting her for breakfast at the restaurant in his hotel three hours later. Neither of them could keep the smiles off their faces nor their hands off each other. They parted, as Elvis headed home, full of hope for what the New Year would bring.

###

Georgie was due to spend the first few months of the year based in the UK. Elvis was down in Hereford for January and the early part of February and they saw each other as often as they could during that time, sometimes meeting in hotels for the weekend, half way between Manchester and Hereford. Things were really falling into place for them and Georgie was starting to relax her defences. Maybe they could make a go of it, not back to where they once were but to a new, better place. She knew she wanted that, these last months Elvis had made her happier than she'd ever been. The nagging voice in the back of her head, that kept reminding her of his potential to fuck up, was starting to fade, Georgie was close to giving him the news he had longed for, that she would accept his marriage proposal. But then, sometime in mid-February, totally out of the blue, Elvis completely disappeared off radar. The last time she'd seen him had been the previous Sunday and they'd made tentative plans for that coming weekend. He'd made no mention of a possible deployment or training exercise coming up.

All Georgie's calls went to voicemail and all her texts went unanswered. When she called his section office, she was told that they could not discuss the whereabouts of any of their operatives. She realised that this must have been what he was talking about in Cyprus. He had obviously been deployed somewhere top secret, which he had been forbidden to talk about. Georgie hoped it was not too dangerous a posting and tried not to worry. She threw herself into her work and enjoyed spending her free time with family and friends. Her parents realised she was worried about him but they had just assumed he was on a tour. Georgie did not enlighten them to the fact that she had absolutely no clue what he was doing or where he was. However, several months passed and Georgie had still not heard from Elvis, she was getting frantic. She asked Charlie if he could find out anything for her but when he tried to look into Elvis' whereabouts, he too hit a brick wall. No one was talking! Even Elvis' parents said that neither they nor Debbie had heard from him and they also were worried.

Towards the end of May a massive series of earthquakes hit Nepal and Georgie's section were deployed on a humanitarian mission to help restore stability and bring aid to the region. By the time, she left for Nepal, Georgie was beside herself with worry for Elvis but also absolutely livid that he had not given her, nor his parents, more of a clue as to what he was going to be doing. Charlie tried to assuage her fears, telling her that it was not so unusual for SF operatives to be out of touch for several months at a time. It did not really help. Georgie decided that the only way to deal with her fears was to bury them deep down and give everything she had to this mission. What else could she do?


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for reading and reviewing. x**

 **Chapter 3**

 **Kathmandu, Nepal, June 2017**

Georgie was in a panic. Maisie had facetimed her to say that Captain James was arriving at the Kathmandu barracks imminently and she was rushing back there straight from her day out with Milan. She was annoyed that she'd allowed herself to be distracted but surely she was allowed a bit of R&R occasionally? The relief mission to Nepal had been fraught with difficulty, she was still worried to death about Elvis and she had found herself relying on Milan's friendship more and more. Although it was clear, after today's outing that Milan was hoping for a bit more than friendship from her. She had thought an afternoon out with him would be just the thing to help her wind down but now, having been romantically propositioned by him, she was just as stressed as ever. She hadn't meant to lead him on but she realised that she had not actually mentioned that she had a boyfriend. She wasn't sure if that was intentional or not on her part. She was still so angry at Elvis for dropping off the face of the earth, without a word, for so long.

Milan had been getting fairly hot and heavy, just as she had received the call, she had been just about to push him off of her and tell him about Elvis. Before she had realised what he was doing he had managed to kiss her and she was not happy about the fact that Maisie and Rab had witnessed what they had on facetime. As she'd grabbed for her ringing phone she'd accidentally answered it whilst she was still in a clinch with Milan!

Maisie was such a blabbermouth, Georgie was sure her business would be all around the section by morning. After all, she had already blabbed to the whole of two section, during a discussion about Special Forces, that she had carried on the action with one of them into decompression a year or so back! Georgie had nearly vomited when she'd heard who it was and she'd, had to excuse herself promptly before causing Maisie actual bodily harm! She'd realised that this was before Elvis had found her in Kenya but even so, what the fuck had he been thinking? Yes, Maisie was a total liability and not the sort of person you wanted knowing any of your business!

Although she had redeemed herself somewhat on the journey up here, to track down Da Chand and the children he had kidnapped from the refugee camp. Maisie was kind hearted, she just needed to be careful about becoming too involved, as Georgie had told her on numerous occasions. Georgie did suppose that she owed her one though for tipping her off about Charlie's early arrival in Kathmandu.

Georgie met him on the parade ground, as she arrived at the barracks in a taxi. At first, she thought he seemed a bit on edge about her not being there to greet him but it turned out he was just messing with her and joked that she _was_ allowed to eat! He seemed to be having trouble keeping a massive smile off his face, as he was talking to her and encouraging her inside the barracks. She wondered what that was about. He had informed her that the reason he was there, earlier than expected, was due to a mission in Afghan, that the section were departing for in the morning. He said there would be a briefing at 0500hrs. Having wished him goodnight and still puzzled by his unusual good humour, she started towards her quarters to get her head down, in preparation for the early call.

As she turned the corner, on the way to her section's quarters, she ran slap bang into someone. She had been looking down at her phone and as she looked up to apologise, she found herself staring into a pair of extremely familiar, gorgeous, warm brown eyes! "Elvis..." She trailed off, in disbelief. She wasn't sure whether it was guilt at what she'd just been up to, or the massive shock at finally seeing him, that had left her lost for words. His eyes flashed to the corner she'd just appeared around, that led to the main entrance. He was obviously curious as to where she'd been but he didn't comment other than to smile and say "Hello George, you look a bit flustered." He was studying her intently and she felt herself blush under his scrutiny.

Suddenly, without warning, her body exploded with anger. "Where the fuck have you been all this time?" She screamed at him, completely losing it. All the fear and worry, that she had been keeping a lid on for the last few months, had bubbled up to the surface and had erupted out of her in white hot fury. Elvis moved quickly, grabbing her hands, which were now pummelling his chest in an effort to extract a response from him. He realised that Georgie was in serious danger of causing a massive scene, here in the middle of the barracks. "Shhh, please calm down George." He pleaded, wrapping one arm around her to pin her arms down and lifting her hysterical form down the corridor to his private quarters.

He got her inside and shut the door behind them, thankful that they had not been seen. He pushed her up against the closed door holding her in place concerned that she would start screaming and punching again.

"You start talking and it better be fucking good." She told him through gritted teeth, trying to control her temper.

"I was on a mission." Elvis replied evenly, releasing her from his hold. "I warned you this kind of thing could happen George." He reasoned calmly.

"You never said anything about being gone for the best part of six months." Georgie spat at him.

"Four months." He corrected. "It's been four months and 8 days to be exact. I told you that I would not always be able to tell you when and how long I would be away on some of my missions." He said gently. "I was undercover in India and Pakistan most of that time, infiltrating a Taliban cell, posing as a British convert. I'm here now to follow up on what I uncovered there. We are going to Afghan tomorrow to finally complete the mission, I hope. That's why Charlie and your section are here."

Clenching her fists again, Georgie opened her mouth to reply but as his words sank in, she realised there was very little she could say to that. He'd taken the wind right out of her sails. He was right, he had warned her about this eventuality in Cyprus, she had just not taken it very seriously. But what she could do, was to tell him how much she'd missed him and how worried she'd been about him. "I was so scared I'd lost you. I missed you so much." She told him, in a small, tearful voice.

He pulled her towards him and kissed her on the forehead, then he rested his chin on top of her head and said. "I really missed you too George, more than you can ever imagine. It killed me knowing that you'd be worried and I could not let you know where I was and that I was ok."

She pulled back from his embrace then to study his face, as she asked fearfully. "Were you though Elvis? Were you really ok?" Georgie saw something flash in his eyes but he just shrugged and replied.

"Yeah, for the most part I was, I'm here now anyway."

With that he lifted her and gently placed her onto his bed. He shrugged off his jacket and positioned himself facing her on the bed. He pulled her into the tightest hug, against his chest, she'd ever experienced. She could barely breathe but she'd rather die than tell him to loosen his hold on her. They couldn't seem to get close enough to each other. He needed the contact to help him banish the demons that had recently haunted his sleeping and waking hours and she needed to feel his warmth to reassure herself that he was finally, really there with her. The rhythmic beating of his heart, against her ear, soon had her drifting off into a sound sleep. Elvis lay awake for a while listening to her even breathing. He smiled to himself, he'd made it back to her. There had been times over the last few months that he'd thought it was an unlikely scenario. This mission had been the toughest he'd ever undertaken. More than once he'd had to make peace with the fact that he might never see Georgie or Laura again. Thank god he'd made it out of there. Eventually, he drifted off to join Georgie in unconsciousness. They woke up, five hours later, still clutching each other tight.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Two section stood to attention when Captain James entered the briefing room, followed by Elvis and his team, the following morning. Elvis' eyes found Georgie's instantly and as she sat down along with the rest of the section, she felt herself shift self-consciously, under his stare. They had not had much time before the briefing, when they woke up but what time they did have they'd made use of creatively. She blushed at the memory and gave him a shy smile. Captain James started the briefing with Elvis filling in some of the background information. It turned out that Da Chand who had abducted some of the children from the refugee camp and whom Georgie and Milan had followed here and had arrested, was actually the missing piece to a much larger puzzle. He was the key to tracking down a Taliban war lord named Aban Omar who was heading the west's _most wanted_ list. They intended to release Da Chand and hope that he would lead them to Omar. Elvis' team, along with two section, were headed off to Kabul to stage a secret mission to capture Omar. They were headed into very treacherous territory indeed, deep inside Helmand province, to launch a stealth attack on Omar's compound. Georgie and Maisie exchanged a look when they heard the Da Chand was to be released but Georgie understood that Da Chand was an important pawn to be used in a much more serious game. Maisie, on the other hand, just looked seriously pissed off that all their hard work getting him apprehended had now come to nothing. Georgie made a mental note to talk to her about it later.

As they left the briefing room, Elvis caught up with Georgie, whispering to her that he wished they were travelling to Kabul together. He was worried for her safety but he didn't tell her so, he knew what kind of reaction he would get after educating her, last night, on his recent activities. He would just have to keep a close eye on her and make sure she was kept as far away from any danger as possible. He almost laughed out loud at the thought. This was Georgie after all! She was inclined to do whatever she felt necessary in regards to caring for the guys in her charge and that included putting herself in danger if she thought it appropriate. Elvis managed to pull Georgie into an alcove for a lingering kiss, out of view of prying eyes. They were going to have to be patient for anything more for now. Elvis knew he must keep his mind on this mission, it was far too important to fuck up and far too dangerous to enter into half-heartedly.

###

Whilst he was waiting for the trucks to be loaded Elvis watched Georgie appear from the front entrance of the building, heading to her transport with Charlie. She stopped to talk to a Nepalese guy who had been hovering nearby. Elvis was watching them intently, as he watched, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. In his job you got very good at reading people and he had an unpleasant feeling that Georgie and this guy were close, closer than he was comfortable with anyway. Their body language was screaming something at him, he just couldn't quite work out exactly what it was. He realised he'd been staring, when Georgie saw him looking and gave him an odd look. What was that? Never one to shy away from a challenge, Elvis pushed himself away from the side of the truck he'd been leaning against and went over to introduce himself.

Marching straight up to the guy , he stuck his hand out "Alright mate?" He said. "I'm Elvis Harte." He could tell by the guy's face that he was none the wiser. "Georgie's boyfriend." He explained further, nodding his head in Georgie's direction. The guy almost recoiled like he'd been slapped and Georgie looked like she wanted the ground to open up beneath her.

WTF? Thought Elvis, with a sense of dread.

"Milan, nice to meet you." The guy said, quickly recovering himself, taking Elvis' hand.

"We need to get moving." Spanner shouted from the rear of the SF support vehicle.

Elvis gave him a wave of acknowledgement and wanting to get her as far away from Milan as possible, said. "Come on, time to head out George."

"I won't be a minute, I've just got something I need to sort out first." She replied brusquely.

Taken aback, Elvis' head tilted to one side and he narrowed his eyes at her. He toyed with giving her a direct order to get her arse moving but thought better of it. He quite liked his bollocks where they were! Georgie might have been all soft and cuddly, once she'd calmed down, last night but if she thought he was pulling rank on her, to satisfy his male pride in some macho pissing contest, well… her likely reaction didn't bear thinking about.

He gave a brief nod and slowly headed to the front seat of the SF support vehicle, keeping Georgie and Milan in view the whole time. Inside the truck, he positioned himself so that he could continue watching them through the truck's mirrors. Something was going on, Georgie appeared to be distressed about a missing girl and Charlie had to come and remind her _again_ that they needed to leave. She had another short conversation with Milan and then she headed to the truck just in front of Elvis. As she passed by his window he made certain to bring her attention back to him. "See you in Kabul George." He told her. She was distracted as she nodded her reply. "Now, what the fuck was all that about?" Elvis wondered to himself despondently. He'd only been back 5 minutes and things with Georgie were going to shit already!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **Military Airport – Kabul – Afghanistan**

On arrival at the airport in Kabul Captain Azizi of the Afghan National Army was waiting for them. He and Captain James were old buddies who had served together a few times over the last three years. He had seemed surprised to see Charlie and commented that no one had told him that it was Charlie's section who had been deployed for this mission. Charlie, who was delighted to see his old friend, couldn't see the problem and just replied. "Why would they?"

Two Section were loading supplies onto the ANA truck that was due to sneak them into the ANA barracks in Kabul. The element of surprise was their greatest advantage for this mission, Elvis had warned them, and so keeping a low profile was of the greatest importance. Maisie, who loved the sound of her own voice, was wittering on about how she was looking forward to working with the Special Forces lads again and managed to remind them all about the _fun_ she'd had on, and after, her earlier mission with them. Georgie was just debating whether she should put her in her place, by mentioning that she and Elvis were an item, when Charlie, looking mortified, told Maisie to shut the fuck up, they'd all had enough of her rabbiting, he told her sharply. Giving Charlie a small smile, in gratitude, for his intervention, Georgie just wanted to stick her fingers down her throat at the mere thought of Elvis and Maisie together.

 **ANA Barracks – Kabul - Afghanistan**

After a dramatic arrival in Kabul, with Taliban snipers opening fire on the ANA truck, as they approached their destination, two section had eventually arrived at the ANA barracks ready to get started. Preparations for the mission were underway. Georgie was kept busy training the ANA medics, as it transpired that their prior training was sadly lacking. Elvis' team and two section were preparing their weapons and their kit and trying to get some relaxation before the off.

Shortly after arrival, they'd had a preliminary briefing about how the mission was going to be carried out with a more thorough briefing due when they reached the forward operating base at Nahri Saraj District in Helmand Province. They would travel there under cover of the ANA trucks. Upon his release, Da Chand had led MI6 straight to Omar's compound. They were warned that Taliban insurgents had significant influence across the whole region. Elvis' team would extract Omar from the compound after being dropped in by support helicopter. Two section would arrive at the compound on foot to support the assault on the ground. Charlie told them that the compound was a four hour walk from the FOB over difficult terrain, so they must rest up on arrival at the FOB.

Elvis and his team were due to head out for a recce of Omar's compound at last light. Georgie had only managed to catch Elvis briefly to tell him to keep himself in one piece. He had replied that he would do his best but had seemed a bit off with her and not his normal cheerful self. She knew that he had sensed something between her and Milan and she realised they were going to have to discuss that situation at some point. She was just not sure now was the appropriate time. She didn't want him getting wound up before this mission, it was imperative for him to have total focus.

Charlie and Elvis got together over coffee in the mess. They had not really had time to touch base since Charlie had arrived in Kathmandu the previous evening. "It's good to see you Elvis." Charlie told him. "You had us all a bit freaked out for a while. Georgie was beside herself. Have you touched base with your parents yet? I've had Georgie in one ear and them in the other for the past four months."

Elvis gave him an apologetic grin. "Yeah, I've had both barrels from them, Georgie and Debbie, on Laura's behalf. Bloody worse than anything the Taliban threw at me on the mission." He joked.

Charlie knew Elvis pretty well, they had been friends since their Sandhurst days. He could tell that, although Elvis treated his recent disappearance as a bit of a joke, it had, in reality, been far from it. "Pretty tough one eh?" Charlie commented quietly.

Elvis just shrugged and said. "I'll be glad when this one's over Charlie, that's the truth of it. Can't wait for some R&R with Georgie, Laura and even my parents, I suppose." He laughed.

Before they parted, Charlie had warned him about Maisie mouthing off, to the rest of the section, about her previous _dealings_ with him. Elvis had noticed her instantly at the briefing in Kathmandu and had realised that he knew her. He had some vague recollection of a pissed up night, during decompression some 18 months ago. He swore under his breath, he would have to talk to her before things got out of hand. He didn't want this to be another thing on the list, to come between him and Georgie. Maisie was clearly a loose cannon; that was demonstrated at the briefing, earlier that day, when she'd thrown a tantrum about Da Chand being allowed to go free. He mentally kicked himself for being so stupid.

Before heading off for the recce of Omar's compound, Elvis had sought out Maisie to tell her gently that he was not interested in her and that he was with someone else. It turned out that Maisie wasn't bothered at all, in fact she made a huge joke of the situation by leading Elvis to think she was distraught when all the time she was actually laughing at him for trying to give her the brush off. Maisie knew he was talking about Georgie, one of the lads had mentioned they were together, so she'd had her last little spiteful act of revenge, by dropping the bombshell that Georgie had a bloke back in Nepal. She knew instantly that she shouldn't have done it and she almost felt sorry for him when she saw the look on his face, but she couldn't seem to help herself. _Him_ trying to give _her_ the brush off! "As if." She thought to herself walking away smugly.

Elvis was shattered. He'd bloody known there was something between Georgie and that Milan guy, who came to see her off in Kathmandu. A black mood descended on him, he was completely devastated at the thought of Georgie being with someone else. He knew he had to focus on this mission for now, he was due out on this recce imminently and he couldn't afford any distractions. But at the first available opportunity he would be having a conversation with Georgie about this other bloke, he needed to know what the fuck had been going on while he'd been gone.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you for reading and reviewing, I hope you like this one. :-) x**

 **I so wish Season 3 has been more focussed on Elvis and Georgie as a couple, rather than that rush job in episode 4. It was set up for them to be after Season 2 ended, not sure why they thought it needed to start the way it did in Season 3.**

 **Chapter 6**

When two section arrived at the FOB, with their ANA comrades, the next morning, Elvis' team were already in situ. The recce the previous evening had gone smoothly and so far all was going to plan. During the morning Georgie had tried to make eye contact with Elvis once or twice but he was not having any of it. She knew he was in the zone, focussed on this mission but she didn't understand why he was totally ignoring her. What the fuck was wrong with him?

Their final briefing took place soon after they arrived. They were told Omar's compound had two vulnerable points – point Alpha, the breach, where Elvis' team would launch their assault by support helicopter and Point Bravo – the irrigation ditch, where Charlie would wait with his team to extract. Kingy's team would launch a diversionary assault. Sentry guards changed every morning Elvis told them and this would be their opportunity to seize control.

After the briefing Maisie had sought out Captain James to express concern about Azizi appearing to know the Taliban lookout who had pulled up alongside them at one of the checkpoints on their way to the FOB. Captain James was not impressed and told her that he trusted Azizi like he trusted any one of his own men. Maisie reported this back to Georgie who assured her that she had done the right thing by flagging it up to the Captain.

They were all trying to kick back and chill in preparation for the early start the next day. Most of two section and Elvis' team were gathered round passing the time chatting and playing cards. Kingy had been talking about an altercation between his wife and daughter, over the fact that his daughter wanted alcohol at her 16th birthday party and his wife had refused. Maisie was giving everyone the benefit of her wisdom on the subject. She had advised Kingy to stick by his Missus and back her up. Kingy, agreeing that was the right thing to do, texted his daughter accordingly. "Let's see if she still likes me when we get back to Nepal." He wondered aloud.

"It's coming to something." Georgie joked. "When the light at the end of the tunnel is returning to a disaster zone."

Elvis, who had been listening disinterestedly to their banter and had not acknowledged Georgie at all since Kabul, suddenly looked up.

"You must be looking forward to getting back to Nepal?" Elvis said loudly and very pointedly to her.

Shocked into silence, everyone looked at Georgie. She felt herself blush with embarrassment. Oh dear – she really hadn't wanted to do this now but obviously Elvis did!

"It's a beautiful country." She replied, willing him to drop it.

"Yeah, beautiful country. Friendly people?" Elvis drawled sarcastically, gesturing towards her.

WTF! He really is going to do this in front of everyone! Georgie thought, mortified. You could cut the atmosphere around them with a knife.

"Is that a problem?" Georgie asked, sounding more confident than she felt. Elvis paused for a moment, obviously deciding whether to continue. "Nah, no problem at all." He said, letting her off the hook. With that he stood up and marched off, leaving Georgie staring after him with her mouth agape.

After, giving herself a few minutes to collect her thoughts she decided that this needed sorting. Elvis was obviously keyed up about the Milan business and she needed to put him straight, before this mission in the morning. He had headed over to the briefing area to do some last minute planning, or to unwind, she was not sure which. Not being one for subtlety and feeling pretty wound up herself, after his little show in front of her work mates, she stormed after him. "What the fuck was that all about?" She blurted out, angrily.

"Aww Georgie, I'm sorry, truly." He replied sarcastically, walking right up to her.

"Just what is your problem?" She asked.

"I'll tell you what my problem is. You! Just you, with somebody else." He replied, the distress clear in his voice.

"What are you going on about?" She shrieked, fired up for battle now. "Is this what you've dreamed up based on seeing me talking to Milan and then not jumping to your command when you said we needed to go, back in Nepal?"

"That's not fucking fair." He shouted back.

"Not fucking fair!" She retorted. "Embarrassing me in front of all them – was that fair? How about not turning up on our wedding day - was _that_ fucking fair?" She threw at him. "Not fucking fair she muttered to herself incredulously." Turning away.

Ignoring her outburst Elvis grabbed her arm and spun her round to face him. "Well are you going to fucking tell me what's been going on with this bloke then?" He persisted.

"You are unreal." She told him. "What _are_ you talking about?"

"Richards told me!" He went on.

"Told you what?" Georgie asked, feeling a bit uneasy. She knew she hadn't done anything wrong but there was a tiny flicker of guilt lurking in the back of her mind that she should have told Milan about Elvis earlier.

"She told me you've got a bloke back in Nepal!" He spat out furiously. "So what the fuck's been going on then, George?"

"Ah, so that's it." She thought. "Oh, reliable Richards, you mean, the biggest gossip in the British Army!" She scoffed pointedly. "Richards spouts some nonsense about me being with someone else and you believe her and get all bent out of shape about it." She continued. "Well thanks a lot for your trust in me, I bloody love you, you stupid idiot. There _is_ no one else for me, haven't you worked that out yet? Milan is just a friend. Admittedly he did try to kiss me but I put him straight. Pity you couldn't have done the same with Richards!" She finished glaring up at him.

Elvis was suddenly very still, just staring at her. "Say that again." He whispered.

"What, that it's a pity you didn't tell Richards to fuck off instead of shagging her?" She replied sarcastically.

"No, the other bit. It's the first time you've said it since we've been back together." He grinned.

"Oh, that I love you! Of course I bloody do. I always have, loving each other was never the problem Elvis."

Before she knew what was happening Elvis grabbed her rifle and dropped it, along with his own, to the floor, then he had her wrapped in his arms. His lips pressed to hers in a passionate kiss that took her completely by surprise. She wanted to stop him and let him know that she was still pissed off at him but the longer she let the kiss go on, the more she found the idea of breaking it less and less appealing. Her arms slid up around his neck and she ran her fingers through his hair. As their clinch became more heated Elvis backed her up towards a nearby wall. He was now trailing kisses up and down her throat and whilst one hand was firmly around her waist the other had found its way inside her combat vest. Fireworks were exploding inside Georgie's body. She knew this was a bad idea – they could get into so much trouble if they were caught but she really didn't want to stop and it was clear Elvis had no intention of doing so.

Suddenly she became aware of someone clearing their throat nearby. She wrenched herself from Elvis' grasp and turned to see Malik, one of the ANA medics hovering uncomfortably nearby. Elvis, wondering what the hell had happened, looked round to see what or who had interrupted his heavenly moment with Georgie. He glared at Malik and Georgie thought that if looks could kill, that poor boy would have died right there on the spot. Georgie, trying to gather her wits, choked out. "What do you need Malik?"

"I wwwas wondering if you had any spare medical supplies I could have, so I can help if anyone is injured tomorrow." He stuttered, obviously mortified at what he'd just disturbed.

Georgie nodded then glanced back at Elvis, who was trying to regain his equilibrium. She gave him a mischievous smile and whispered. "You'll keep soldier. Be careful tomorrow and remember, I _do_ love you." As she retrieved her weapon and walked off to find what she could for Malik.

Elvis, relieved that all was well in the world again, smiled, watching her go. "Yeah, love you too." He whispered." Then, he called after her. "And remember! No bloody heroics tomorrow George. I mean it, just keep your fucking head down!"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

As the SF support helicopter descended from above the crest of the hill, ready to dispense its passengers, all that could be heard on comms was Charlie bellowing for Georgie to get down on her belt buckle. Elvis glanced in the direction of the irrigation ditch and sure enough, there was Georgie legging it across open ground, obviously trying to get to her fallen comrades, who were with Kingy and currently hunkered down on the west side of the compound. She was doing a good job of weaving and taking cover, where possible but she was under heavy fire from an insurgent on one of the lookout turrets of the compound. "Fuck!" Thought Elvis. Making a mental note to take him out first, upon breaching the compound. As they leapt out of the chopper, one of the insurgents managed to target it with a ground to air rocket launcher. It was badly damaged and Elvis said a silent prayer for the guys inside, to make it back to friendly territory, although he was doubtful.

Breaching the compound, he and his boys started their sweep looking for Omar, although judging by the fact that these guys were obviously aware they were coming, he was pretty sure Omar was long gone. Elvis headed as quickly as he could towards the insurgent who had Georgie in his sights. Elvis whistled to him from behind and as he turned towards the sound Elvis took great delight in blasting the fucker. They managed to neutralise several of the insurgents before Dyno took a bullet to the thigh from a fucker who appeared from nowhere on one of the flat roofs. After promptly dealing with Dyno's shooter, Elvis shouted for Spanner to get Dyno undercover. Dyno was incensed at having been shot and was bellowing at the top of his voice about 'Taliban tossers!' By this point any remaining insurgents had managed to escape the compound and it was clear that Omar was definitely not there. Elvis, taking cover with his guys, decided it was time to call it a day. "This is Tango 1-0 to all stations, we have a man down, man down, no sign of target, We are bugging out. Over."

###

Once the compound was secured, a makeshift medical facility was set up under Georgie's direction. She was dealing with a minor gunshot wound on Rab's shoulder as she heard Peanut's voice from behind her say. "We've got a gunshot wound, he's lost a lot of blood." George's own blood felt like it had frozen in her veins until she managed to turn away from Rab to see Elvis and Spanner carrying Dyno in. As great as her concern was for Dyno, the relief she felt at it not being Elvis was intense. She managed to shake herself into action. She had a quick look and told Elvis. "It's a bleeder, I need an ETA on the MERT." As Elvis started to call in the message, there was a commotion from behind as Charlie staggered in with Captain Azizi, who had a gunshot wound to the chest. Elvis and Spanner grabbed Dyno and moved him to make way for Azizi, who was clearly in a very serious condition. Georgie did all she could, inserting a chest seal and giving CPR but it was no use and a distraught Charlie told her to let Azizi go. Elvis was watching this all taking place concerned about Charlie and Georgie. Charlie had been close to Azizi and it was becoming clear that it was Azizi who had betrayed them. Elvis knew that Charlie would find his betrayal particularly difficult. Georgie would struggle with losing a patient, she always took that very personally. He would have to keep a close eye on them both.

###

Charlie was staring blankly into space as Elvis approached him. "You alright mate?" Elvis asked him gently.

"What's it all been for, eh Elvis? I've done 5 tours of Afghanistan and what for? Have we really made any difference here?" Charlie said despondently.

"This place is fucked up Charlie, don't drive yourself mad trying to make sense of it." Elvis reasoned.

"Richards tried to warn me. I could have gotten everyone killed." Charlie argued.

"Do you think he acted alone?" Elvis wondered.

"You mean, can we trust his men? How can we know?" Charlie asked. "I'm just glad it's extraction by support helicopter and not a road move."

Georgie was stretching her legs, taking a short break from her medical duties, when Elvis approached her, to let her know they were due to be extracted from the compound in 20 minutes. He could tell she was on the edge emotionally and he didn't want to tip her over but he needed to be sure she was ok. "How's Dyno doing?" He asked her.

"Yeah, he's stable." She replied on the verge of tears.

He rubbed her neck and said "Hey, come on, you're gonna get me going in a minute."

"It's just this fucking place." She replied.

"Try not to let it get to ya." He advised.

"I lost Azizi and Dyno was close, I thought it was..." She gestured to Elvis himself.

He knew it was unprofessional but she needed some comfort, he put his arm around her and hugged her to him. "It wasn't though George, I'm fine and so are you, thank God, after that bloody stunt you pulled earlier, getting to Kingy's squad. What was the last bloody thing I said to you yesterday, huh?" He asked her, trying to sound angry but failing miserably.

She gave him a sheepish look and shrugged. "They needed help Elvis, the injured would have bled out."

He checked that no one was looking at them and gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head, then he reluctantly released her from his hold.

"Fuck! It's so difficult being here with you, I just want to drag you into one of these buildings and have my wicked way with you!" He told her, his eyes smouldering.

Georgie laughed, saying. "OMG! You are bloody weird Elvis Harte. This is the least romantic place I can think of on the entire planet. But hold that thought, cause I'm so up for that when we get back to civilisation." She said winking at him.

"I can't help it, if I can't keep my hands off you. I've got 4 months away to make up for, remember." He told her, with a mischievous grin.

Suddenly Charlie appeared beside them, clearly distressed. They looked at him questioningly.

"All the support helicopters have had a no fly due to a sandstorm 2 miles east." Charlie reported.

Elvis grimaced and mumbled to himself. "Ah, it's shit here." Then, already formulating a plan, he opened his comms. "This is Tango 1-0. All my call signs on me."

Georgie just stared at them both. "How are we going to get out?" She wanted to know.


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks to that guest reviewer for the gentle nudge! :-) Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. I have really struggled with how to write it, as I liked the way it was originally written. I have ended up just leaving this bit almost as it was in the show and then it will diverge in the next chapter. Most of their dialogue at this point could have worked for them being a couple already.

 **Chapter 8**

"Extraction plan B." Elvis told Georgie pointing to the clapped out old truck that he and his guys had managed to procure from a nearby farm.

"Really! In this?" Georgie asked sceptically.

"Yeah really." He replied. "There is no plan C and we need to get moving."

Georgie shrugged and said. "Well, I'll need a medical area."

"We can only take the ones who have a good chance of making it." He said.

"We're not leaving anyone Elvis." Georgie said with certainty.

"The ANA can decide who they take and who they leave." Elvis argued.

"Elvis, either they all go, or I stay. I need to be caring for every one of these guys. They have just been fighting alongside us." She told him.

"Yeah well, I wouldn't be treating some of these arseholes the way you are." He grumbled.

"Well, I will be practising courageous restraint." She told him marching off.

Elvis watched her go, wondering what the hell had just happened, who the fuck was in charge here anyway!

Kingy was organising two section as best he could without much help from Charlie, who was still suffering from shock over the Azizi betrayal. He'd been standing in the middle of the compound mumbling something about them being sitting ducks last time Kingy had tried to ascertain his orders. Elvis had already made clear that no one was to engage the enemy without his say so but Kingy'd, had to have words with Fingers who'd let the tension get to him and had felt it necessary to let off a round of gunfire towards the insurgents who were monitoring them from a distance.

Once the majority of the cement dust had been cleaned off the floor of the truck bed and the tarps had been attached over the frame to make a roof, the truck was ready for departure. Richards, who would be driving, had determined that the gearbox was pretty knackered and she'd have to keep it in 2nd gear all the way. She just hoped it was mostly downhill to Kabul. Apart from Rab, who was up front with Richards and Peanut, all those who had, had any medical treatment were in the back being looked after by Georgie, as the truck set off. None of them were under any illusions about how long and dangerous the journey back to Kabul was going to be. As they left the compound, Elvis eyed the insurgents who were watching them from the surrounding hills. He hoped that them sodding off would be enough to satisfy the fuckers but he wasn't at all sure.

###

As they turned the last bend in the dusty road, they could not have been more pleased to see Kabul laid out in front of them. For all their moaning about it in the past, it was the most beautiful sight they could have imagined. They arrived back at the ANA barracks exhausted but elated to be alive. Georgie had done an amazing job keeping all of her patients going, on what had been a frightening and difficult journey. They had narrowly missed being blown up by an IED that had killed a local who had driven past them at the last moment. Then Georgie'd had to carry out a life-saving procedure on Rab, on the side of the road, when it was discovered that a piece of shrapnel had pierced his body armour. He had been moments away from death and Georgie had been distraught that she'd missed it in her earlier assessment of his condition. But thankfully, they had all finally made it back safely. Elvis had been worried about Georgie and shuddered at the thought of anything happening to her. He was so proud of her though and had told her that she had worked miracles on this mission. Charlie was just so relieved to have got his section back to the barracks in one piece. He didn't care to think of how differently things could have turned out.

###

Elvis was visiting with Dyno in the infirmary when Richards came in to see Rab. Georgie was helping out in the medical facility monitoring her patients. Richards asked Georgie about Rab's forthcoming return to the UK. "Will you go with him?" She wanted to know.

Georgie told her that he would be well looked after on the flight by the doctors on-board but that she would be going back to Nepal.

Elvis' head snapped up and he came straight over to talk to Georgie. "Did I just hear you say you were heading back to Nepal?" He asked, leaning one hand on the wall above Georgie's head.

"Yeah, I've got a job to finish." She said smiling up at him.

"What about this bloke, who tried to kiss you then?" Elvis wanted to know.

Georgie had wondered when he was going to bring that up again. She knew he wouldn't have forgotten about it.

"What about him?" She asked.

"Well, he's going to be there ain't he?" Elvis replied bluntly.

"Yeah, I'm fairly certain he will be. But you've got nothing to worry about, have you? What did I bloody tell you back at the FOB? Eh?" Georgie asked him.

Elvis smiled at the memory. "Ok, ok. I'm just not that keen on you going back there to him." He shrugged.

"I'm not going back _to him_! I'm going back to build prefabs." Georgie tried to reassure him. "I've got a job to do Elvis."

Elvis nodded. "I suppose I'm going to have to learn to live with other blokes fancying you. Can't really blame them. After all, who wouldn't fancy you?" He said brushing his hand down the side of her face tenderly. "God, I need some time alone with you." He whispered. "I'd give this all up for you, you know." He told her.

"I don't want you to give it all up for me Elvis." She told him, her tone a bit sharper than she'd intended.

"What, what is it? I just don't get it." He asked confused. He didn't know what she wanted him to say. When was she going to give him a clue that she was ready to agree to marry him?

"You know I love you Elvis, it's just me learning to trust you again." She admitted.

Elvis looked crushed. "You can trust me. I've changed, I know I have. Giving this all up for you is the only way I know how to prove to you that I have. I could do SAS training at Hereford." He offered.

"What, stay at home with the babies while I go on tour?" She laughed.

"We're having babies now?" He asked, smiling happily. Ok this was good, he was finally getting somewhere!

###

Later that evening news came in that Omar was holed up at an Taliban hideout and munitions distribution facility on the other side of the city. Elvis and his team met to discuss the next stage in their mission.

As Elvis left the briefing room, he met up with Georgie who was heading back to her quarters.

"I know." She told him.

"You know what?" He asked.

"You've located Omar."

"Oh yeah, and how do you know that?"

"Because I know who you are. You look excited, alive, you could never give this up."

"I can change though."

"Maybe I don't want you to change."

Elvis put his hand out to stop her.

"There's moments ain't there, _clarity_ , when you feel like you understand everything."

"Yeah, along with the third or fourth pint, then it all goes to shit." Georgie laughed.

"Listen, I'm being all sincere here. I'm trying to tell you I don't want a life without you in it." He looked at her for confirmation that she understood what he was asking.

"Do you remember, when we were going to get married? Do you remember that?" She asked.

"Yes." He replied.

"My mum came into my room the night before our wedding, she sat in my bed and she said 'can you imagine spending the rest of your life with Elvis?' and I said to her, I can't imagine not spending the rest of my life with him." Georgie told him.

"Thank you." He said, quite choked at how he'd let her down then. He still couldn't believe how stupid he'd been back then. If she have him a second chance, wild horses wouldn't keep him away from their wedding.

"That was then." She said dismissively.

Elvis felt his heart sink. "You don't feel the same now?"

"Yeah, Yeah. I know I'm never going to get rid of ya."

Elvis laughed. "Not the most romantic thing you've ever said."

"It probably is actually."

Georgie was realising that no matter what happened, her heart was never going to be free of the feelings she had for Elvis. She might as well accept it and put them both out of their misery. They were meant to be together, she knew that like she knew the sun would rise in the East.

She reached up, grabbed him by the collar and pulled his head down towards her.

"Never let me down again." She warned.

"I never will." Elvis promised, his heart soaring with joy.

###

The following morning, as she left Elvis in bed, Georgie pointed out that he still had a smile plastered on his face, he retorted. "I can't 'elp it, I am a bit fuckin 'appy!"

Georgie, was surprised that they'd managed to spend the whole night together without Elvis posing the question. She thought she'd made it fairly clear in their talk last night that she was ready. After such a build up, she felt a bit deflated. But as she was sorting her kit ready for the mission later that morning, she found tucked inside her notepad a folded piece of paper, with a message from Elvis:

On the front was a heart with Georgie's name in it and on the other side he had taped an engagement ring to the paper with the words. "Will you marry me?"

Georgie smiled to herself. He was such a hopeless romantic! She adored that about him, that for all his hard man exterior, he didn't hesitate to show her who he really was.

She was finally ready, she took the ring from the note and slid it onto her left hand. She tucked the proposal back inside her notepad then held her hand up to the light, to watch the diamond sparkle in the morning sun.

"Yeah, _she_ was a bit fucking happy too!"


	9. Chapter 9

I have used some poetic licence here, as I'm not sure this is even possible, although I'm sure it used to happen in wartime occasionally. It's all just fiction anyway. ;-)

 **Chapter** **9**

 **ANA** **Barracks** – **Kabul** – **Afghanistan**

 **The day after the second mission to capture Aban Omar.**

 **June 2017**

"I now pronounce you husband and wife." The army Chaplain declared. "You may kiss the bride."

Elvis didn't need telling twice, he pressed his lips to Georgie's for a full two minutes before coming up for air. As he let go of her she staggered backwards laughing and gasping for breath, before he caught her in his arms again. Two section and his team almost raised the roof with the commotion that they made in celebration. They'd done it! Through all the ups and downs, they'd finally tied the knot. Elvis thought he was going to burst with happiness and the grin on Georgie's face told him that the feeling was mutual. He felt a flash of guilt seeing her there in her army combats and not in the pretty, ivory gown that she deserved but he had felt such a burning need to get that ring on her finger before anything else could possibly get in their way. And, if truth be told, before her parents could try to change her mind. He wasn't looking forward to that particular confrontation but with Georgie by his side, he felt like he could conquer the world, so Max and Grace should be a piece of cake!

###

The second mission to capture Omar had been as fruitless, and almost as disastrous as the first, with the insurgents expecting them and opening fire on them as they arrived. The ANA lost 9 of their men and suffered numerous casualties. Elvis' team, minus Dyno, fast roped onto the roof and Elvis had narrowly missed being blown to pieces by an IED, which exploded as he was finishing his sweep of the area. He had spotted it just in time and had run for cover; luckily he was just far enough away by the time it went off. The blast lifted him off his feet and threw him into a wall at other end of the building but apart from a sore shoulder and a couple of cuts and bruises he was fine and 'bloody lucky to be alive,' as Georgie had wasted no time in pointing out. She had been almost hysterical by the time she had located him and insisted on checking him over carefully from head to toe twice, before she was satisfied that he was ok. Even when she _was_ certain that he was in the clear she'd still had trouble letting him out of her sight for several hours afterwards.

###

Having had such a narrow escape, Elvis realised that he was tired of waiting. He'd seen his life flash before his eyes and all he could think about was how much time he'd wasted with Georgie. It was her face, holding up the ring on her finger and blowing him a kiss, as they'd set off for the mission, that he saw, replaying in his head, as that bomb had exploded. As soon as he got back to the barracks he made contact with a friend, who owed him a favour, in the British Embassy in Kabul. Elvis got him to pull some strings, to obtain an expedited marriage licence and arrange to have an army Chaplain on standby. The Chaplain had easily been persuaded to perform the ceremony. It made a change for him, from his usually depressing role of counselling battle weary soldiers, or even worse, blessing the dead bodies of those unfortunates who would never see their loved ones again. One of the ANA guys, upon hearing of Elvis' plans, had secured the wedding rings from a local jeweller he knew, as the British soldiers were still confined to the barracks. And so Elvis' plan had come together. Georgie had been a little unsure at first but the more she considered it, the more she liked it. She'd already told him she couldn't imagine not spending the rest of her life with him, so why not start that life together here and now? She'd been badly shaken by almost losing him in that explosion. Maybe it was a sign that the time was right for them. After all, she'd already had two proper wedding days and look how they'd turned out. There was no escaping the fact that they both had dangerous jobs and if this last mission had taught her anything, it was to grasp the moment and live for the day.

###

"Well you two, massive congratulations! I have to say, I had my doubts that we'd ever all be standing around at another of your weddings – but I'm glad I was wrong." Charles said, hugging them both in turn. "Molly is absolutely furious that she's missing it. Does it feel any different then Mrs Harte, finally being married to this mad bastard?" He joked to Georgie, jabbing his thumb in Elvis' direction.

"Give over, you bloody love me Charlie." Elvis replied, slapping his best man on the back.

"Yes, warts an' all, I suppose." Charlie agreed nodding.

Georgie laughed at their banter. "It feels great Boss." She replied. "I think he's just about suffered enough for his earlier poor behaviour, don't you? " She giggled, winking at a jubilant Elvis. "Anyway after his little stunt yesterday, I felt it only wise for him to have his own personal, full time medic, just to be on the safe side." She smirked. "Oh by the way, you can still call me Lane, Boss. I won't be changing my name at work."

Noting Elvis' incredulous look in Georgie's direction, Charlie just nodded, trying to suppress a smile.

Elvis' head tilted to one side as he stared at Georgie. Wait, what? Had he heard her right? That wasn't how he'd seen this going. Admittedly, they'd never discussed it but she was his wife now and he wanted to make damn certain that everybody knew it. How would that happen if she didn't change her name? Georgie, seeing Elvis staring at her out of the corner of her eye thought. "Oh here we bloody go." So she turned and blew him a kiss and mouthing, "Later," she drifted off to receive the congratulations of her waiting colleagues.

"Oh yes, later indeed." Elvis thought to himself, watching her walk away. They were definitely going to discuss it later. It meant a great deal to him, Georgie being Mrs Harte, he clearly had some work to do, to talk her round. Elvis was used to having his own way, in fact he'd made a bit of an art form of it over the years. Getting Georgie to the altar a second time proved that and he didn't see any reason why this situation should be any different. Watching Elvis engrossed in this inner monologue, Charlie chuckled, picturing the cogs whirring away in Elvis' brain. He clapped Elvis on the back, bringing him back to the present and said cheerfully. "Welcome to married life mate, you look like you could use a drink, what a pity that there is none!"

###

After the ceremony, they managed one night together before Elvis and his team were to be repatriated to the UK and Georgie and two section were departing for Nepal, to finish their humanitarian mission. That morning, before they all departed the ANA barracks, Elvis was brooding about Georgie heading back to Nepal. He said that the section would have been well within their rights to repatriate to the UK after the traumatic experience they had been through with the Azizi betrayal. However, two section had agreed, _to a man_ , that they wanted to return to Nepal to finish what they'd started. Elvis said he wanted to take Georgie away on a honeymoon but she'd told him that would have to wait until she had finished this posting.

Georgie knew the real reason that Elvis was unhappy about her returning to Nepal. Milan was waiting back there and thanks to bloody Richards, Elvis was fully up to speed on Georgie's recent history with him. He'd made his feelings pretty clear about that situation, she recalled. She tried to reassure Elvis that he had nothing to worry about. She loved him and they were now married for God's sake! Anyway, after finding out about his previous fling with Richards, as far as Georgie was concerned, they were fairly even.

Elvis, not easily appeased, decided this was the perfect opportunity to play his trump card, telling Georgie that he would feel so much happier and less insecure _if_ she would agree to _become_ Mrs Harte. At least then all the blokes she met (and by that, she knew he meant Milan), would know she was married and would leave her alone. Being in the army and knowing what some of the men could be like, Georgie could see his point. She knew he had waited a long time to get that wedding ring on her finger (mind you, whose fault was that?) but she hated seeing him so down about it just as they were parting. It would be a fairly minor inconvenience for her to deal with the paperwork, so if it would make him happy, why not? Plus the fact that when they eventually had babies together, which she hoped they would, she wanted them to all have the same surname. Georgie sighed and nodded, agreeing to Elvis' petulant request.

However, upon seeing the smug look that instantly transformed his features, she realised she had been completely and expertly outmanoeuvred. She narrowed her eyes at him and threw the hairbrush, she'd been about to pack, across the room at him. He skilfully dodged out of the way and it bounced off the wall. "Careful, I'm still wounded. " He protested innocently, struggling to keep a straight face.

"You can wipe that bloody smile off your face!" She told him, unimpressed with his tactics. Elvis laughed and grabbing her, he fell onto the bed, pulling Georgie down on top of him for a very long and sexy kiss. "Thank you Mrs Harte." He whispered happily into her ear as he proceeded to make very good use of their final few moments together…

Less than an hour later he had hopped into the ANA truck, that was transporting his team to the airport, looking like the proverbial cat that got the cream. Georgie, seeing him off, shook her head, smiling. It was clear that she was going to have to sharpen up her battle strategy. Being married to Elvis was going to keep her on her toes but then she'd always known that. It was one of the many things she was looking forward to about their future life together.


	10. Chapter 10

A little bit of Molly, by special request...

 **Chapter** **10**

Stepping onto the tarmac at Brize Norton, Elvis smiled and thought about Georgie. He couldn't wait to meet her here in a few weeks time to start their married life proper. He was lost in his own little world when he suddenly became aware of someone shouting. "Oi tosser!" He'd recognise those dulcet tones anywhere. "Well, well, well, Molly James, as I live and breathe." He smiled.

"I thought it was you." She said. "Just as well. Not too many officers take being called a tosser as well as you do but I suppose you're used to it." Molly laughed.

"How you doing Mrs James?" Elvis asked, leaning down to kiss her cheek.

"Don't you bloody _Mrs_ _James_ me, you bleedin toss pot. What the fuck was that all about, marryin' my best mate without giving her a proper wedding. Don't you think you owed her that after all the shit you put her through?" Molly ranted at him.

Elvis held his hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry Molls, it just happened. We didn't want to wait any longer. Georgie was up for it." He argued in his defence.

"Of course, she bloody was, you were confined to barracks, there was nowhere for you to bloody disappear to this time!" She said, her tone caustic.

"Ouch!" Elvis recoiled. "You're a bloody hard woman Molly. Give me a break, you know how how much I love her." Elvis pleaded.

Molly gave him a hard stare, then she smiled and jumped into his arms. "Congratulations tosser!" She chirped kissing his cheek. "I couldn't be more pleased for ya. Come and buy me a cup of tea and tell me all about it."

Elvis waved to Spanner and Peanut and headed off with Molly. She listened intently while he talked her through the recent events in Afghan. She had already heard from Charlie about Azizi and she still couldn't believe it. Elvis warned her how deeply affected, by his friend's betrayal, Charlie had been and that he would need her more than ever when he finally finished this tour. She nodded, grateful that he'd had Elvis with him when the unthinkable had occurred.

"So what's the plan then Elvis?"

"Well, I'm going to spend some time with Laura and my folks, obviously."

"Obviously, and then?"

He knew where she was going with this. This was Molly James, she wasn't going to let him off lightly.

"Georgie's parents, I guess?" He offered.

"Yeah, It's only fair that you smooth the way for when she gets back. After what happened before, you need to front up this time and take any flak on the chin."

He nodded, he supposed she was right. It did seem the proper thing to do.

"And then what?" She pushed further.

Elvis looked at her, confused this time. "What?"

"You ain't gonna let her have that poor excuse for a wedding ceremony, in that shit hole of a place, be her only memory of the most important day of her life are ya?" She trilled, exasperated.

Elvis scratched his chin, he hadn't really thought farther ahead than getting Georgie back on UK soil and in his arms but now he thought about it, he liked the idea of doing something back here that their friends and families could attend to celebrate their marriage.

Molly, finally seeing the light dawning in his face just laughed and said. "Duh! - jeez, that was hard work. I'm back at home now for the foreseeable, so let me know when you're free and I'll give you a hand with the planning."

"Thanks, that'll be great." He said appreciatively. Although he wasn't sure he was up to being whipped into shape by Molly, he didn't know how Charlie coped with her. Elvis found her bloody exhausting to be around. He always felt like he didn't quite match up to her exacting standards, give him Aban Omar or any other terrorist to deal with any day of the week, he knew what he was up against there!

 **There is so much more Molly and Charles fanfic out there, than Elvis and Georgie, that I don't feel the need to write about them but I do actually like a bit of Molly and Elvis interaction. It would have been fun to see them on screen together in the show. x**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Elvis braced himself then knocked on the Lane's front door. He'd discussed it with Georgie and told her what he wanted to do. She hadn't told her parents about the wedding yet, as she felt it was something that needed doing face to face. She was not quite sure how they would take it. She had sworn Fingers to secrecy, she knew he spoke to Marie a fair bit. She knew this was something that Elvis felt he should do and she could understand why he wanted to. So she had supported his decision and had let him be the one to tell her parents about the wedding.

The door swung open. "Alright Lulu." Elvis said, glad that it was her and not Marie who had answered. "What you doing here?" She whispered. "Is Georgie ok?" She suddenly looked a bit worried. He mentally kicked himself, he hadn't thought that they might think he was bringing bad news about Georgie. "No she's fine, it's nothing like that." He quickly reassured her. "Are Max and Grace here? I need to talk to them, to all of you." Elvis told her. Lulu's eyes widened in surprise. "Are you sure you want to do that Elvis?" She asked shocked.

Elvis laughed nervously. "Yeah, I'm afraid so."

She pulled the door wide for him to step into the hallway. "They're in the front room." Lulu said, leading the way. She pushed open the living room door and announced him. "Mum, dad, Elvis is here to talk to us - but Georgie is fine." She added quickly. Max and Grace, who had been watching the tv, stood up looking worried. Lulu grabbed the remote and turned the tv off.

"Do you mind if we sit down?" Elvis asked them. They nodded, puzzled as to why he could possibly be there.

"I don't mean to be rude Elvis but what are you doing here?" Max said. "I know you and Georgie have been seeing each other and she may have forgiven you but I'm not sure we are ready, as a family, to accept that yet after what you put our Georgie through." Elvis nodded, he'd known this wasn't going to be easy but he owed it to Georgie and to them. Georgie was their daughter and being the father of a daughter himself now, he had a small inkling of how he'd feel if someone upset his little girl in such an unforgivable way. He took a deep breath. "The thing is Max, Grace, Georgie and I are not seeing each other any more..." Before he could continue Max jumped in. "Oh thank god! She's finally come to her senses has she and now you've come crawling round here to try to get us to help you talk her round. Are you mad? I for one am glad she's not giving you another chance. You don't deserve her! There I've said it. That's how I feel." Grace had reached out and grabbed Max's arm to try to get him to calm down. "Max, be careful, think about your blood pressure." She pleaded.

"Is that it then Elvis?" Grace looked at him unsure if Max was right. Something just didn't seem right. She knew her daughter and she would be amazed if Georgie had broken up with Elvis. She knew Georgie loved him beyond reason. Had _he_ ditched _her_ again? Oh please god no! Her poor Georgie! Elvis was sitting there, looking a bit shell shocked after Max's little outburst. "Elvis?" Grace prompted. Elvis shook himself out of his reverie. "No. It's not like that at all." He said quietly. "The truth is, we were together in Afghanistan recently and...". He couldn't quite bring himself to say it, the way Max was glaring at him and with Grace looking at him like he'd just shot her puppy. "And what Elvis? Spit it out for god's sake." Lulu blurted out.

"...and we got married." He finished holding up his hand to show his wedding ring.

The silence was deafening. It seemed like an hour had passed before Grace said nervously. "I thought you just said, you and Georgie got married."

"He did say that." Lulu confirmed. She got up from her chair and came over to Elvis.

"Congratulations Elvis. I am happy that you and Georgie found each other again. You two were meant to be." She kissed him gently on the cheek. Max was just sitting on the edge of his seat in shock. He was trying to work out what the fuck was going on. How could Georgie, his little Georgie, have gone and married this bastard without even telling them. Without giving her mother and her sisters the chance to be there. Surely not. Grace was obviously having a similar inner monologue. "Whose idea was it Elvis? To get married out there like that?" Grace wanted to know. "What does it matter Mum?" Said Lulu before Elvis could respond. "They _are_ married and it's up to us to let the past go and look to the future. Georgie has chosen Elvis. She's married him. That's all we need to know. Her life, her choice. You know she was never the same after he left. She's been our Georgie again since he came back. As long as he swears to look after her this time and do his best to make her happy, that's all we can ask." Lulu finished confidently. Elvis gave her a weak smile. "Thanks Lulu, I will look after her. I love her more than life itself."

"Yes, I believe you do." She agreed.

Lulu looked at Grace and Max. "It's time to let the past go. For Georgie's sake." She repeated gently. Grace looked at Max. He was staring at Elvis, his features still tortured by the shock of what he'd heard. "Max, Lulu's right you know. We've got to try to move on now. We owe our Georgie all the support we can give her - and Elvis - now they're married. You know how much she loves him, she's a smart girl, she wouldn't have given him this second chance unless he deserved it. We've got to do the same now." Max slowly nodded. He stood up and held his hand out to Elvis. "It's going to take me some time to get over what you did but I'm willing, for our Georgie's sake, to give it a go. Welcome to the family lad."

Elvis shook Max's hand and nodded. "I get it, thank you Max." Grace approached Elvis and reached up to peck him on the cheek. "Welcome to the family Elvis. If Georgie's chosen you, that's good enough for me but if you ever hurt her again I swear to god, you'll not know what's hit you." She warned him. Elvis inclined his head in acknowledgement.

He felt his body sag with relief. It wasn't going to be easy winning Georgie's family round but he'd made that first, all important, step. The worst was over.

Suddenly, the front door slammed. They all looked up in horror. "Oh my god!" Shuddered Lulu. "Whose going to bloody tell Marie?"


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"Anyway, you might want to give Fingers a slap; as then Marie came bowling in, mouthing off about us being married." Elvis told Georgie.

"I'm going to bloody throttle him, he's worse than Richards on the gossip front. I asked him specifically not to tell Marie. What happened then?" She wanted to know.

"Well, she stopped in her tracks when she saw me. I think it put her on the back foot a bit, she wasn't expecting me to be there. It kind of took the wind out of her sails. So although she did have a fair bit to say, as you'd imagine, it wasn't as bad as I expected." Elvis sounded relieved. "She gave me the 'don't hurt my sister again or I'll rip your balls off speech', so we're clear about that, at least." He said with a shudder.

Georgie laughed. "Yeah, I've already had some texts from her bollocking me, a.) for marrying you and b.) for not waiting so they could all be there. Talk about mixed messages. So all in all, not too bad then?" Georgie queried.

"Yeah, could have been worse I s'pose. How's things going out there? Any idea when you'll be finished? I really miss you babe, can't wait to get you home." Elvis told her.

"Miss you too!" Georgie said reaching out to touch his face on the screen. "It's ok, we're still getting the aftershocks. We managed to get Tara back safely, so that's great news. Still no news on when we'll be done though."

"I'm glad the little girl was found. That must 'ave lifted everyone's spirits. Be careful of those aftershocks though George. You've already had one lucky escape there. I'd go crazy if anything happened to you. I need you back 'ere in one piece. 'Ave you seen much of that bloke?" He slipped in, almost as though it was an afterthought.

"Milan? Yeah, I've seen him most days. He is working here at the moment too. He said to send you his congratulations when I next spoke to you. He says you are a very lucky bloke!" Georgie finished, grinning.

"Oh, that I am." Elvis agreed, blowing her a kiss.

"I've got to go babe. Charlie's wants us for a briefing in a few minutes.

"Ok George, say hi to Charlie for me and tell him to look after my girl. Love you."

"Love you too, speak to you soon."

###

Elvis closed his iPad. He rubbed the back of his neck. He hadn't anticipated how much he would miss Georgie, but it was becoming a constant ache in his chest that he couldn't seem to extinguish. Since they'd been back together this was the first time she'd been away on tour without him. Now they were married, he was anxious to start their life together. He'd spent time with Laura and his parents since he'd been home and he'd done some work briefing the next team who were being sent after Omar, who'd evaded them twice in Afghanistan. He'd also taken Molly up on her offer to help arrange a blessing and party for when Georgie returned, although that was a bit tricky as they didn't have a date as yet. Elvis was getting restless, he needed something else to do, to keep him occupied.

###

Georgie took off her gloves and flicked them into the bin. She'd finally finished administering the children's vaccinations. It had been a busy day and she was looking forward to curling up in her bunk after she'd had a quick bite to eat and a shower. The days here were long and the work tiring but she was enjoying it and being so busy kept her mind off of missing Elvis, her husband, she smiled at that thought.

After he'd stood her up at the altar at their first wedding, she'd been so broken. There was a time she'd thought her shattered heart would never mend. She'd hated him for a long time and she'd almost driven herself crazy trying to work out what she'd done wrong, for him to do that to her. When Jamie came along Georgie had known she could never love him like she'd loved Elvis but she'd fooled herself into thinking that she could make it work. That her feelings for him would grow and for a time they did, little by little. That is until Kenya, when Elvis had literally appeared from the sky and carried her off. The shock of seeing him again, so unexpectedly, had been almost crippling. His reappearance, coming when it did, straight after such a terrifying and traumatic ordeal was incredibly confusing for her. When she'd finally let him explain why he didn't turn up at their wedding, she'd felt her heart softening. She would never understand why he didn't just tell her about the baby. She would have been upset, for sure, but not in the same way as she was by him just not turning up on their wedding day. The night she'd spent with him, in the hotel in Kenya, had been the first time in two years she'd actually felt alive.

Of course, that had been the death knell for her relationship with Jamie, she'd tried to dismiss it as some kind of closure with Elvis but in fact it was the complete opposite. It was the start of her opening her heart to him again. She did everything in her power to deny the fact, even to the point of putting on her wedding dress on the morning of her wedding to Jamie. Thank god Elvis had turned up when he did. She shuddered to think what might have happened had she gone through with that wedding. Although she regretted that Elvis had to get shot to jolt her into realising that she could not live her life without him. Even then she hadn't been able to jump straight back into a relationship with him. Time back at the refugee camp had clarified her thoughts and made her mind up. She'd made him work for it though. After all he'd put her through, she figured he deserved that.

It was dark when she walked back to her tent after her meal and she used her torch to light the way. She was fortunate enough to have secured her own private tent, as it doubled as a storage facility for all her medical supplies. She grabbed her towel and toiletry bag and headed straight off to the makeshift shower block. Finding the place deserted, Georgie smiled to herself, it wasn't often, you got to shower in peace in the army. Brushing her teeth at the basin first, she then hung her towel on the outside of the shower door and laid out all her shower paraphernalia inside. She just hoped the water was warm, it could be very hit and miss on occasion. After several minutes, the water was starting to cool a little. Georgie turned the control to off and squeezed the excess water from her hair. She cracked open the door and reached for her towel. WTF! No towel! She pushed the door open a little farther to see if it had fallen to the floor. No. Nothing. Bloody Monk, she thought, I'll fucking kill him. She'd just have to put her clothes straight on, she looked over to the side of the basin, where she'd left them in a neat pile. "Oh FFS! You've got to be kidding me." She spluttered, enraged.

Suddenly, she heard a deeply familiar voice drawl "Well, well, well, what a good job I 'appened along. Are ya looking for this?" Georgie flung open the shower door and there standing in front of her was Elvis, holding her towel, trying unsuccessfully to hide the cheeky smirk on his face. "Elvis, I'm going to bloody kill you, what are you doing here?" Georgie squealed launching herself into his arms. Elvis, who had been taken off guard at the sight of her glorious, naked, body was not quite ready for her assault and they both went flying backwards. His swift reactions kicked in, and he managed to stop them from falling. It felt so good to have Georgie back in his arms, he wished he could lay her on the floor and make love to her there and then but although he'd blocked the door to the shower block, he couldn't guarantee that it would hold if someone forced it. He put the towel around her and started to dry her off. "Come on, let's get you dried and dressed, so that I can get you back to your bunk and take all your clothes off again." He said salaciously.

"What are you doing here Elvis?" Georgie asked again.

"I was missing you so much George and I was getting so bloody bored at home, on leave on my own, so I asked the NGO running this place if they needed any volunteers and they said 'yes, always.' So here I am."

"Does Charlie know?" Georgie queried, concerned.

"Yeah, he said as long as I didn't distract you from your day job, he'd turn a blind eye to my being here."

Georgie grinned, she leaned in and kissed him passionately. "Ok then Mr Harte, let's hurry back to my tent, I have a missed honeymoon to make up for don't ya know..."


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks for reading and reviewing. xx**

 **Chapter 13**

Elvis woke up with Georgie lying across his chest. He bent forward to kiss the top of her head. "Mornin' gorgeous. Rise and shine." He said cheerily.

Georgie muttered an unintelligible response. Elvis smiled. "Someone's a sleepyhead this mornin'."

"Whadaya expect?" Georgie mumbled. "Ya kept me up half the night."

Elvis laughed. "I didn't hear ya complainin' about it at the time." He replied smugly.

Georgie mustered just enough energy to pull back her hand and slap him ineffectually on the shoulder. "You cheeky bastard." She admonished.

Elvis started gently caressing Georgie's back. "What time have you got to be at work?" He enquired hopefully. "Have we got time for..." Before he could complete that thought, Georgie had reached out and pulled him down for a kiss in response.

They were so caught up in their lovemaking that they did not hear Tara calling out to Georgie from outside. Suddenly the tent flap was flung open and Tara launched herself inside, followed closely by Milan. "Tara, stop! I've told you before, you can't just let yourself in to Georgie's...". He trailed off as he took in the scene before him. Elvis was on top of Georgie and she had her legs wrapped around his waist. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry." He said, quickly turning Tara round and pushing her out. Elvis, with lightning reflexes had grabbed his shirt, from bedside the bunk, to throw over Georgie's body. He didn't want some fucker looking at her nakedness. Milan, clocking the filthy look that Elvis gave him, turned swiftly and stumbled out after Tara, still muttering about how sorry he was.

Elvis turned back to Georgie. "Does he do that often then?" He asked snarkily.

"Do what?" Georgie answered, sitting up and pushing Elvis off of her.

"Come into your tent, unannounced." Elvis replied, his voice laced with disapproval.

"He didn't. It was Tara. He was trying to stop her, obviously!" Georgie explained as though she were addressing a child. "That can't happen again." She stated, totally mortified.

"Too bloody right, it can't." Elvis agreed, grabbing his trousers from the floor.

"No! I mean, you can't sleep in here with me anymore Elvis." Georgie said throwing on her clothes.

Elvis couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What the hell are you talking about? I've come all this way to spend time with you. If you think I'm sleeping anywhere other than _with_ _you_ , you're gravely mistaken!"

"Elvis, this is my job! Don't you think it's a bit unprofessional? What must Milan be thinking?" Georgie wondered.

"I don't give a flying fuck what _he's_ thinking. We're married. We were just doing what married people do!" Elvis shouted in annoyance.

"Keep your bloody voice down!" Georgie pleaded. "The whole fucking camp will hear you. I need to get to work and so do you. We'll talk about it later." Georgie said, grabbing her medical supplies and heading off to start her day. Elvis stood in the doorway of the tent watching her go. He had his work cut out sorting this one out, he knew what Georgie was like when she made her mind up about something, but as usual he was up for the challenge. He wasn't going to let that fucker come between him and his wife.

###

Elvis spent the morning working with a team who were building the prefabs. They'd cleared a large area and levelled it out in preparation for the bases to be concreted in. Georgie was working in the medical centre this morning but she and 2 section would be joining the build team after lunch. Elvis had seen Milan a couple of times throughout the morning but Milan had given him a wide berth. When they stopped for lunch Elvis went to find Georgie but she wanted to finish off her work in the medical centre so Elvis said he would bring her a sandwich later. She was clearly busy and not in the mood to engage in conversation. Elvis headed to the mess tent where he found Charlie. Charlie had heard about the events of the early morning.

"Shit, word travels fast around here." Elvis groaned.

"You know what these places are like Elvis, hell you know what 2 section are like, any bit of gossip will be pounced on and dissected with relish." Charlie laughed.

"Georgie's really mad about it. Says I should sleep somewhere else. It wasn't my bloody fault that the kid burst in on us." Elvis complained. "I haven't come all this way to sleep on my own. I could have stayed at home for that."

"So why have you come then Elvis?" Charlie asked.

Elvis looked at him and shrugged. "I missed her mate. We've only just got married. Why'd ya think?"

"So it's nothing to do with you being jealous of her being out here with Milan then?" Charlie suggested.

Elvis narrowed his eyes at Charlie. "Well it wasn't but now you're making me think that it should be. Is there something that I'm missing here?"

"Not that I'm aware of but I know you Elvis." Charlie warned him. "You court trouble, that's probably why you're so bloody good at your job. But relationships... not so much. Just remember that Georgie's a grown up and she's pretty good at taking care of herself around the boys. If Milan has, or did ever, step out of line, I'm pretty sure she'd make short work of him. So you don't need to get all heavy about it and let it cause a rift between you two. Tread very carefully or it'll be you she's making short work of!" Charlie advised.

Elvis considered what Charlie had said. "Yeah, I s'pose you're right. I don't give her enough credit for how well she takes care of herself. I'll bear what you've said in mind. Thanks mate. See ya later." Elvis pushed himself back from the table and headed off to find Georgie.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

As Elvis approached the medical centre, Milan was coming out. "I've just been to apologise to Georgie." Milan said. "I want to apologise to you too. It was an inexcusable invasion of privacy. I have had words with all the children this morning as well, reminding them that they must not let themselves in to anyone's living quarters. I shouldn't have followed Tara in either, I'm really sorry about that."

"Nah ya shouldn't, I'm not sure what ya were thinking mate. But... apology accepted." Elvis held out his hand to Milan who shook it, looking relieved.

"Look, I know you're only here because of Georgie but I do appreciate you volunteering. We need all the help we can get here at the moment." Milan told Elvis.

Elvis nodded in acknowledgement of Milan's appreciation and then headed inside to see Georgie.

Georgie was packing up her medical equipment when Elvis came in and handed her, her lunch. "I heard you talking to Milan outside, thanks for being civil to him." Georgie said, hungrily taking a bite of her sandwich.

Elvis looked wounded. "What d'ya mean? I'm charm personified, me." He protested.

"Yeah, only when it suits you." Georgie laughed. "He was mortified by what happened this morning. I actually felt a bit sorry for him."

"Yeah, well I don't. I might be civil but that's as far as it goes. I 'aven't forgotten that he tried to kiss you." Elvis complained.

"Yeah, about that." Georgie replied. Elvis looked at her quizzically. "It might have been partly my fault."

"How so?" Elvis asked carefully.

"Well, I hadn't actually told him I had a boyfriend, we'd been working together quite a lot and had become good friends and I obviously must have given off the wrong signals. I'm sorry." Georgie apologised.

"I suspected as much when I introduced myself to him in Kathmandu. It was obvious he didn't know about me. I don't get it George, if you and he were such good _friends_ , how come ya hadn't mentioned me?" Elvis said, sounding hurt.

"I don't know Elvis, I was still so angry at you for disappearing without telling me, maybe it was intentional, to get back at you, I'm really not sure..." She trailed off uncomfortably.

"So are ya saying you wanted him to come on to ya then?" Elvis asked unhappily.

"No! I didn't intend to give him _those_ signals. I really didn't. I love you so much Elvis. You know I do, I'd never have let you back in here if I didn't." She said, putting her hand over her heart. "All I'm trying to say is that it might not be all his fault, ok. So give him a break please." Georgie pleaded.

Elvis wasn't sure that her explanation of events had actually made him feel any happier about the situation but he decided to let it go for now. He nodded at Georgie in acknowledgement of her request. As he did so, he became aware that everything around him was starting to move, he could feel the ground shifting beneath his feet and Georgie was looking at him with fear in her eyes. The medical centre was a makeshift tented structure but there were quite heavy tent poles above their heads, holding the structure in place. Elvis grabbed Georgie and pulled them both under the examination table for protection, should any of the poles dislodge and come crashing down. Georgie clung on to him, he could feel her trembling. She had told him about her past experience of being trapped under debris after a previous aftershock and he wished he'd have been here for her then. He held her tight and kissed the top of her head, soothing her gently. "It's ok George, it'll pass soon." He told her. "I'm a bit disappointed though, I want to be the only one who makes the earth move for ya." He joked feebly, trying to diffuse her fear. She clung to him, resting her head against his shoulder. "I love you." She whispered.

Elvis squeezed her tight. "Yeah I know baby, I love you too."

When he was sure the tremor had passed they climbed out of their shelter and brushed themselves down. Everything had fallen from the shelves and was on the floor, they spent some time tidying it all up, before heading down to the prefab build site, checking around the camp that there were no injuries, from the aftershock, before they went.

The afternoon passed quickly with them all working hard to help get the concrete poured into the bases ready for the prefabs to be assembled over the next few days. There was a great deal of banter going on between two section and of course the morning's events were at the forefront of most of their minds. Although Elvis was there working as a volunteer for the NGO, they were not quite sure how much they could get away with. Under normal circumstances he was their commanding officer and they were fairly wary of him at the best of times. Eventually though Monk couldn't hold out any longer and felt the need to make a joke about being exposed, on the job. Elvis, being in reasonably good spirits, made the mistake of letting it go unchallenged, which then just opened the floodgates for a whole afternoon of ribbing by two section. Finally Georgie had, had enough and put them all firmly in their place. Elvis just carried on quietly working but he smiled to himself. Yeah, he thought, Georgie could definitely handle herself.

Georgie left the building site early, so she could get cleaned up to run an early evening clinic in the medical centre. Elvis came to meet her when she'd finished to walk her back. Being ravenous, she had wanted to head straight to the mess tent for their evening meal but Elvis had managed to persuade her to come back to her tent as he said he wanted to talk to her about something first.

When Elvis pushed open the tent flap, Georgie couldn't believe what she saw before her. There was a table set up in the middle of her tent with a table cloth and candles and wine and two domed plate covers, which were failing to conceal the delicious aromas that filled the tent and assaulted her nostrils as she entered. "Elvis! How did you manage this?" Georgie wanted to know, smiling with delight.

"Well, I could tell ya... but then I'd have to kill ya." He joked. "Madame..." He said, pulling out her seat for her and then pouring them some wine. He took the seat opposite her and chinked their glasses. "'appy three week anniversary!" He announced, blowing her a kiss.

"Oh wow! Is it three weeks already?" She queried.

Elvis nodded. "I got us a present." Elvis said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a handful of plastic cable ties. Georgie looked puzzled.

"A little something to assist us in continuing our marital relations." He announced smugly.

Georgie's eyes widened in shock.

"We can use them to secure the tent flap at night, so we don't get any more uninvited guests." Elvis continued.

"Oh!" Georgie exclaimed, choking on her wine.

"What did ya think they were for?" Asked Elvis.

Georgie blushed crimson.

Elvis' eyes twinkled with amusement. "Well, I'm game if you are but we definitely need to make sure we're not interrupted then." He said, raising his eyebrows suggestively. The sound of their convulsive laughter echoed all around the camp.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Georgie was awoken by the sun streaming in through the blinds. She opened her eyes tentatively, for fear of the blinding rays. "Blimey George, I thought ya were never gonna wake up." Elvis' voice was full of impatience. He was an early riser and had already been out for his daily run along the beach and for a dip in the sea. He approached the bed and leaned down to give Georgie a wake up kiss. His hair was wet and beads of water dripped down onto Georgie's face. She didn't mind though and reached up to pull him in to deepen the kiss. Elvis climbed onto the bed and covered Georgie's body with his own, which was still damp and cold from his swim. Georgie yelped in surprise at the temperature change. "You're bloody freezing Elvis!"

"I know, I've been waiting for ya to wake up, to help me get warmed up. 'Skin to skin' is what they recommend in survival training." He suggested helpfully.

"Well, if that's what they recommend in survival training, that's what we must do. Can't have you freezing to death on our honeymoon in the Maldives, can we?" Georgie said sarcastically, rolling him off of her so she could remove the sheet that was separating them. Elvis, grinning happily, peeled off his damp shorts, dropped them on the floor and snuggled up to Georgie, pulling the sheet back over the two of them.

They were due to head home in a few days and Elvis would soon be back on tour, so they were determined to make the most of this precious time together. Elvis had surprised Georgie with a honeymoon, it had been just what they both needed to help them relax and recharge after their recent tours. Elvis had spent two weeks volunteering at the NGO whilst Georgie finished off in Nepal. Charlie had allowed Georgie to head straight off on honeymoon rather than repatriate with the rest of her section. She'd had to stop in Kathmandu to do a bit of shopping en-route to the Maldives but she had not needed much above and beyond what she'd brought on tour with her anyway. Just a couple of bikini's and dresses, she already had some t-shirts and shorts. Georgie had been thrilled when Elvis told her about the surprise, on the day they we due to leave Nepal, he'd managed to keep it a secret until the last moment.

As they lay in bed together, Georgie brought up something that had been weighing on her mind. "Elvis, we haven't really talked about living arrangements when we get home." Georgie pointed out. "I'm based in Manchester and you're in London and Hereford, when you're not on tour. How are we gonna make that work?"

"Yeah, I know, It's not ideal. We could get a place in Manchester, although I'd have to spend some time in London with Laura. I'm overseas more than you are and when I'm at home, based in Hereford, I could commute, staying there during the week I s'pose. But now that we're married I might look at scaling back my overseas tours. We did talk about me going into training. What d'ya think?" Elvis asked her.

"Elvis, I meant it when I said that I didn't want you to give it all up for me but I can't say that it doesn't scare the shit out of me, every time you head off on tour, wondering what life threatening situations you will be involved in on a daily basis. Whatever you decide though, you need to be sure that it's something you can live with and be happy doing." Georgie reasoned.

"I'll give it some more thought but I know that I want to spend more time with ya George, being away on tour suddenly seems less appealing, knowing you're going to be at home waiting for me. Maybe I'll do this next tour, then see how I feel." Elvis suggested.

"If you do go down the training route, then you won't be able to commute from Manchester on a permanent basis. I will have to see if I can transfer down to Hereford, if that's possible, or maybe leave the army altogether." Georgie said.

Elvis' face reflected the shock he felt at Georgie's words. "You would do that? Leave the army, so ya can be with me?" He exclaimed.

"Of course I would Elvis. The army is important to me but you're my priority, you are my husband. I think us making a go of our marriage is more important and one day when we start a family, I won't want to be doing overseas tours anyway."

"Ah, we're back to them babies again are we?" He joked, smiling. "Well, ya seem pretty keen, it's the second time you've mentioned it recently, shall we make a start on that now then?" He offered, snuggling up close to her again. Georgie laughed. "You do want more kids, don't you Elvis? I know you've already got Laura and you're a great dad to her but I would really love for us to have a child, or two, of our own one of these days." Georgie said, sounding a little unsure of his reaction.

Elvis leaned in and kissed her gently. "George, there's nothing I'd like more, than to have loads of kids with ya." He reassured her. "I'm Italian remember, having loads of kids is what we do and you're the only person I'd want to do that with. I love Laura to bits, of course I do, but I'd never have planned to have a child with anyone other than you. Since I met ya, It's only been you for me George. Only you." Elvis, lying propped up on one elbow, was staring into her eyes and Georgie could see the truth of what he was saying in the depths of his own. She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. She brushed away the tears, that were pricking her eyelids, with the back of her hand. Feeling too emotional to speak, she just wound her arms around Elvis' neck, pulled him down towards her and pressed her lips to his by way of response.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter** **16**

 **Manchester - August 2017**

Elvis stood with his arm around Georgie, staring at the sea of expectant faces before them. "I'd like to start, by thanking ya all for being here today, to help celebrate our marriage. As most of ya know, I made a really stupid decision three years ago and it resulted in me losin' this amazin' woman, now standin' by my side." He squeezed Georgie against him. "But I'm so grateful that we found each other again and she was willin' to give me a second chance. I made a promise to her a few weeks ago that I'd never let 'er down again. I would like to repeat that promise here today in front of you, our friends and family." Turning to Georgie, he declared. "I love ya George and I will never let ya down again." Raising his glass, Elvis requested. "Join me in raising ya glass - to my beautiful wife, Georgie ... and to second chances."

"Georgie and second chances." The gathered crowd echoed, happily raising their glasses in celebration.

Elvis and Georgie were on the dance floor. _She moves in her own way_ , by the Kooks had just been played and the happy couple had entertained their guests by 'doing their own special dance' to it. They remembered practising it in Georgie's bedroom the day before their last wedding. They'd both had great fun finally sharing the dance with their guests, who'd crowded the dance floor to watch. As the song transitioned into something a bit slower and their audience had dispersed, Georgie whispered in Elvis' ear. "This day has been so wonderful Elvis. I didn't think I needed the big wedding day but I was wrong, celebrating with the people we love has made everything just perfect."

"Well I can't take all the credit, Molly and yer mum 'ad a bit to do with it too." He admitted.

"Oh, I know, Molly told me but she also said that you'd been determined that everything had to be flawless. Even she was impressed with you. And I've definitely seen some softening from my mum and dad. They've both been very complimentary about how hard you've worked to get this together. So thank you. I love you." Georgie smiled up at him, she reached up and pulled his head down towards her, so she could show her appreciation properly.

"You look so damn sexy in that uniform as well." She told him quietly. "Do you know I used to have a recurring dream about you turning up at our wedding in that uniform. I remember having the dream the night before I was kidnapped in Kenya. Maybe it was a premonition that you were coming for me." She wondered aloud.

Elvis tightened his grip on her. "I'll never forgive myself for what I did to ya George. But I'm glad to hear you were still dreamin' about _me_ while ya were engaged to that other twat." He replied, grinning. Georgie swatted his arm, pulling away from him. "You smug bastard, you had to go and spoil that special moment!" She giggled. Elvis used the opportunity to catch her by surprise. He twirled her round and dipping her low, he captured her lips with his own. He expertly explored her mouth, his tongue fervently enjoying the, oh so familiar, taste of her. He was happily lost in his own little world, when suddenly his ears were brutally assaulted.

"Oi mate, put 'er down and stop 'oggin' 'er. Some of 'er mates wanna 'ave a dance wiv 'er before the night's over!" Molly shrilled, tapping Elvis on the shoulder. Elvis swore quietly, under his breath and reluctantly released his wife into Molly's care. "Charlie's got a pint for ya at the bar." Molly offered, by way of consolation. Elvis kissed Georgie's cheek, saluted them both politely and turned on his heel to find his best mate. "That was easier than I fought it was going' to be. Fought I'd have to fight 'im for ya." Molly laughed.

"I was just telling him that you'd been singing his praises." Georgie told Molly.

"Is that what ya were doin'? Looked more like he was checking out ya tonsils. Anyway what ya got to go and do that for. Don't want 'im thinkin' I'm goin' soft." Molly protested grabbing George's hand as the next song came on. "Oh I love this one." She shrieked, enthusiastically launching herself and Georgie into the middle of the floor.

Elvis and Charlie were standing at the bar watching their wives on the dance floor. "So how ya been then mate?" Elvis asked Charlie.

"Ok, I'm getting there. My CO suggested I see the army shrink. Said Azizi's betrayal would have had an effect on anyone..." Charlie trailed off, embarrassed.

Elvis studied his friend carefully. "Have ya discussed what happened out there with Molly?"

Charlie nodded. "What do _you_ think Elvis? Do you think Molly's the type who'll let anything be swept under the carpet?" They both laughed at the thought.

"Well, has that helped or do ya think ya need to see a professional?" Elvis wanted to know.

"I don't know, it does help discussing it with Molly, obviously, but I've got a lot of people in my charge and I need to be sure I'm over it. I can't risk anything happening to them if I make a mistake." Charlie confessed.

Elvis nodded, thinking about Georgie. He put his hand on Charlie's shoulder. "I'm here for ya mate, any time ya want to talk. But do whatever ya have to do. We were all shaken by what happened so there's no shame in gettin' the support ya need to get back on track."

Charlie clinked his glass against Elvis'. "Cheers mate. How's things with you guys, have you decided what you're going to do about living arrangements?"

"Yeah, I probably shouldn't say anything before Georgie's spoken to ya but I think she's gonna apply to transfer down to Hereford. We're thinking of starting a family quite soon, so she wants us both to be settled in the same place. But act surprised when she tells ya, will ya?" Elvis disclosed.

"Congratulations Elvis. That's great news for you both but I will be really sorry to lose her. She'll be hard to replace." Charlie said, shaking Elvis' hand.

"Oh, I know that mate, why d'ya think I've been working so hard to get her back all this time?" Elvis laughed.

The evening was coming to a close, Elvis and Georgie were saying farewell to their guests, who were departing in dribs and drabs. They had the hotel's honeymoon suite booked and their families and the James' had rooms booked as well. Elvis' mum approached them, carrying a sleeping Laura. "I'm sorry you two, she was desperate to stay awake, to say goodnight to you both but she just couldn't quite manage it. You had such a long line of guests waiting to say goodnight too. She's had an amazing time, she loved dancing in her pretty dress, talking to everyone and playing with her cousins. ". She said smiling. "I'm going to take her up and tuck her up in bed now if that's ok with you Elvis? Gabby said she'd watch her for me, so I can come down for a quiet drink with your dad, she's already put Marco and Stefan to bed." Gabby was Elvis' older sister who had two boys of her own, who were a little older than Laura.

"That'd be great mum, thanks for lookin' after 'er today." Elvis told her, planting a tender kiss, on Laura's blonde curls before his mum headed off with her granddaughter.

"Right then, George, nightcap with the family before we turn in?" Elvis suggested.

"You sure you're up for sitting down with my family?" She jokingly replied.

Elvis smirked. "I think I'm equal to the challenge, I've had all the right training after all but if not, I've got you, my fierce but gorgeous wife, to protect me." Georgie wound her arms around his waist, she looked up at him and assured him sincerely. "Oh, I'll always have your back, Elvis, always!"

Georgie was snuggled in between her parents on one of the couches in the hotel bar. She was observing the Lane and the Harte families who were bonding over a nightcap. Charlie and Molly were chatting to Elvis' parents at the bar and Elvis was having an argument with Marie, about something unimportant, on the couch opposite. It would take a long time for him to earn her sister's forgiveness, for the pain he'd caused Georgie but she hoped they would at least learn to get along in the meantime. If not, future family gatherings were always going to be very fraught affairs. Georgie rolled her eyes at them.

Grace squeezed her arm. "You look so beautiful today Georgie, your dad and I are so proud of you. I know we were against you getting back with Elvis but we can see how much you love each other and how happy he makes you."

"Yeah, he does mum. Do you remember asking me, the night before our last wedding, if I could imagine spending the rest of my life with Elvis?"

"Yes, you replied that you couldn't imagine _not_ spending the rest of your life with him." Grace remembered.

"I still feel like that, maybe even more so now than I did then. If Elvis hadn't walked back into my life, there would have always been a part of me missing." Georgie admitted. Grace wiped a tear from her eye and gave Georgie a quick hug.

"Everything's going to be alright from now on in for the two of you." Grace assured her. Georgie turned and kissed her mum on the cheek, she then turned and did the same to her dad, who was clearly too emotional to speak but was nodding in agreement beside her. Georgie looked over at Elvis, she caught his eye and blew him a kiss. "Yeah everything's definitely going to be alright from now on in." She agreed...

 **THE END**

 **If, like me, you hated that final scene after Elvis' death of Georgie's mum telling Georgie everything would be alright from now on in, hopefully this made up for it just a little bit.**

 **Thank you so much for reading and especially to those who have taken the time to review. x**


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